ᐅ Garage constantly experiencing water damage and extremely high humidity levels
Created on: 20 Jan 2026 09:31
M
MeiglHello everyone,
In 2022, we had a precast concrete garage installed. The foundation was supposed to be a strip footing, with two strips along the outer sides of the garage and about a 6-meter (20 feet) gap in between that was left unfilled. In June 2022, a field technician came to re-measure the foundation to ensure the distances were correct and gave the "okay," otherwise the garage wouldn’t have been delivered. The garage was delivered, but the driver apparently got caught on a tree during transport, as there were some scratch marks from branches. The company corrected this shortly thereafter, so no problem there.
- January 24, 2023: Solar panels were installed on the garage’s flat roof. According to the manufacturer, the roof can support various options like green roofs with plants and soil, gravel, etc. The system was weighted down with paving slabs, no drilling was done.
- March 31, 2023: Water damage near a window was reported. A subcontractor from the company came, left the old silicone in place, and simply plastered over it (I only found this out later).
- December 21, 2023: Water ingress near the window was reported again (no surprise). The repair was completed later.
But things get more interesting now:
I suddenly noticed extremely high humidity inside the garage (which has probably been there for some time). I placed several humidity meters inside, which constantly showed levels above 90%.
- February 10, 2024: I reported the humidity for the first time, as we started experiencing damage to personal property due to mold. Bicycle saddles and a heavy-duty shelving unit developed mold. Water spots are now also visible on the door, not just the window.
- March 1, 2024: A technician came and criticized the poor previous repair at the window; he redid the silicone sealing on both the window and the door. On the outside, he found a crack in the concrete above the door and replastered it. Regarding the humidity, he said, "Yes, the garage needs to dry out after production" (which was over a year ago, so that seems unlikely to me). He also mentioned the garage door’s ventilation setting. I have been using it regularly, but the humidity is so high inside that the garage even froze on the inside during a frost because the walls are obviously too damp. A neighbor two houses down, with a garage from the same company, has no such problems. I ventilate constantly when there is no frost at night.
- June 2, 2025: Another water damage report was made concerning the door—the same damage that the technician supposedly repaired on March 1.
- July 2, 2025: Another technician came but dismissed the issue, saying nothing can be done except repaint with water-repellent paint.
- November 3, 2025: Yet another technician arrived and repainted the entire affected side of the garage. When I asked if that would solve the problem, he said it would need to dry for four weeks. I was a bit skeptical.
- December 7, 2025: Water stains were seen again on the door, but I thought maybe the paint was working. I’m not an expert and initially trusted what they said.
- January 11, 2026: The stain on the door has spread slightly and is also running down the frame, near the electrical outlet and light switch. Water there is obviously undesirable.
- January 14, 2026: I took the car out and wondered why it was fogged up on the outside. The humidistat reads over 95% as always, but this time the puddles on the floor made the garage very damp. I checked the bikes; the helmet of child 1 is moldy inside, the bicycle seat straps of child 2 are moldy, and the folded-up wagon inside is completely moldy.
Additional info: The garage is free-standing on the property and is not connected to the house.
This would now be the fifth attempt at resolving the problem. Since we bought the house and didn’t build it ourselves, I have little experience with this so far.
What would be the best way for me to proceed?
Should I report the damage again? I don’t really trust the company to permanently fix the problem. The warranty overall lasts five years, until 2027.
Thanks for any tips and suggestions!
In 2022, we had a precast concrete garage installed. The foundation was supposed to be a strip footing, with two strips along the outer sides of the garage and about a 6-meter (20 feet) gap in between that was left unfilled. In June 2022, a field technician came to re-measure the foundation to ensure the distances were correct and gave the "okay," otherwise the garage wouldn’t have been delivered. The garage was delivered, but the driver apparently got caught on a tree during transport, as there were some scratch marks from branches. The company corrected this shortly thereafter, so no problem there.
- January 24, 2023: Solar panels were installed on the garage’s flat roof. According to the manufacturer, the roof can support various options like green roofs with plants and soil, gravel, etc. The system was weighted down with paving slabs, no drilling was done.
- March 31, 2023: Water damage near a window was reported. A subcontractor from the company came, left the old silicone in place, and simply plastered over it (I only found this out later).
- December 21, 2023: Water ingress near the window was reported again (no surprise). The repair was completed later.
But things get more interesting now:
I suddenly noticed extremely high humidity inside the garage (which has probably been there for some time). I placed several humidity meters inside, which constantly showed levels above 90%.
- February 10, 2024: I reported the humidity for the first time, as we started experiencing damage to personal property due to mold. Bicycle saddles and a heavy-duty shelving unit developed mold. Water spots are now also visible on the door, not just the window.
- March 1, 2024: A technician came and criticized the poor previous repair at the window; he redid the silicone sealing on both the window and the door. On the outside, he found a crack in the concrete above the door and replastered it. Regarding the humidity, he said, "Yes, the garage needs to dry out after production" (which was over a year ago, so that seems unlikely to me). He also mentioned the garage door’s ventilation setting. I have been using it regularly, but the humidity is so high inside that the garage even froze on the inside during a frost because the walls are obviously too damp. A neighbor two houses down, with a garage from the same company, has no such problems. I ventilate constantly when there is no frost at night.
- June 2, 2025: Another water damage report was made concerning the door—the same damage that the technician supposedly repaired on March 1.
- July 2, 2025: Another technician came but dismissed the issue, saying nothing can be done except repaint with water-repellent paint.
- November 3, 2025: Yet another technician arrived and repainted the entire affected side of the garage. When I asked if that would solve the problem, he said it would need to dry for four weeks. I was a bit skeptical.
- December 7, 2025: Water stains were seen again on the door, but I thought maybe the paint was working. I’m not an expert and initially trusted what they said.
- January 11, 2026: The stain on the door has spread slightly and is also running down the frame, near the electrical outlet and light switch. Water there is obviously undesirable.
- January 14, 2026: I took the car out and wondered why it was fogged up on the outside. The humidistat reads over 95% as always, but this time the puddles on the floor made the garage very damp. I checked the bikes; the helmet of child 1 is moldy inside, the bicycle seat straps of child 2 are moldy, and the folded-up wagon inside is completely moldy.
Additional info: The garage is free-standing on the property and is not connected to the house.
This would now be the fifth attempt at resolving the problem. Since we bought the house and didn’t build it ourselves, I have little experience with this so far.
What would be the best way for me to proceed?
Should I report the damage again? I don’t really trust the company to permanently fix the problem. The warranty overall lasts five years, until 2027.
Thanks for any tips and suggestions!
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